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To: Pelham

Nope. That decision was made many decades ago.

I lived through the days of AirLand Battle that the Army developed and the Air Force signed onto. My experience is based on Desert Shield/Storm, which thankfully had General Horner, Swartzkopf’s AirLand proponent in the Air Force as his Air boss.

Up through the Vietnam war, the Air Force was led by strategic bomber pilots who got their start in WWII. We paid a heavy price in Vietnam because they could not see that infared and Radar SAMS weren’t just like ack-ack.

During my whole career, the Air Force was led by the mighty hairy-chested. scarf-wearing fighter pilots of Vietnam. Guys like Horner were rare.

Finally, those old dudes are gone.

The leaders now are from Desert Storm, and AirLand is part of their doctrine.

I think this decision shows the fighter mafia just might FINALLY be dead.


18 posted on 09/01/2018 4:35:15 PM PDT by Alas Babylon! (MAGAMarchOnWashington.com)
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To: Alas Babylon!

I wouldn’t count on AirLand remaining their doctrine if budgets get tight and the Air Force has some other mission that they value more highly.

If the Army gets to control fixed wing CAS then they can make sure it’s there when they need it. Otherwise they are at the mercy of whomever is in charge of the Air Force.


24 posted on 09/01/2018 4:46:23 PM PDT by Pelham (Yankeefa, cleansing America one statue at a time.)
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To: Alas Babylon!
Up through the Vietnam war, the Air Force was led by strategic bomber pilots who got their start in WWII.

And, flew CAS like bombers, delivering ordnance from greater than 5-10k AGL feet it appeared. I suspect they had orders not to go below a floor.

Our Marine pilots scared the shiite out of me, how low they would come in. The A-4 guys were the worst.

74 posted on 09/01/2018 11:02:56 PM PDT by doorgunner69 (no mntion whast)
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